The general election ballot will be set Tuesday following a pair of primary run-offs for Democratic U.S. Senate and Republican District 3 House of Representatives, but turnout is expected to be low.
The Democratic Party run-off for the Senate features Howard Sherman vs. David Baria. Sherman received 700 more votes than Baria in five-candidate race in the June 5 primary. The winner will meet incumbent Republican Roger Wicker in the Nov. 6 general election.
In addition to that run-off, voters in parts of Oktibbeha County will choose between Michael Guest and Whit Hughes in the Republican primary for the House District 3 nomination. On June 5, Guest lead Hughes by more than a 2-to-1 margin. The winner will meet Democratic candidate Michael Evans, who won the June 5 Democratic primary in a two-candidate race, on Nov. 6.
In the June 5 primary, just 13 percent of the state’s registered votes went to the polls, and circuit clerks expect another low turn-out Tuesday.
In Lowndes County, 41 absentee ballots were cast for Tuesday’s run-off. There were 66 absentee ballots cast during the June 5 primary.
In Oktibbeha County, 140 absentee ballots were cast by Saturday.
“We’ll have more than that, though,” said election deputy clerk Sheryl Elmore. “We haven’t been to the post office this morning, so there will probably be more in today’s mail.”
In the June 5 primary, 240 voters in the county voted by absentee ballot.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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